15 Ways to Make Your Home More Interesting with Floating Shelves

When it comes to home décor, there are as many styles as there are people in the world, and that makes for some beautiful versatility! All of the best designs, though, DO have a few things in common: they make people’s lives more comfortable, more organized, and more interesting, using challenges in house structure and daily routine as inspiration for innovative, inspiring décor. Lately, we’ve notice one household item in particular showing up everywhere and providing all of these attributes— the floating shelf! These sleek, bracket-and-hardware-less shelving solutions can do so much more than sit on the wall in neat lines, and Decoholic recently rounded up her favorites. Of course, we just HAD to share them with you. Read and discover all the things you can use a floating shelf to do in your home.

DIY a nighstand.

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Whether you can’t yet afford a full set of bedroom furniture, are simply saving your pennies, or want to give your guest room a more dynamic, open look, making your own nightstand is an easy solution. Just use shelves! It’s much more affordable and adaptable to your decorative and storage needs. You’ll probably end up with more usable space than a regular nightstand, too!

Turn tight spaces into dynamic showcases.

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Since floating shelves don’t have any brackets or hardware to get in the way, you can stagger them in tight spaces for a display area full of movement and fun.

Fill in corners.

Elle Decor via Decoholic

Another great place bracketed shelves can’t fill, but floating ones can? Corners! When you have limited room, filling in these nooks is the best way to store things without sacrificing precious space elsewhere.

Apply the design delight of the staggered shelves to a large wall space and make a fun take on the traditional photo collage! The shelves allow you to achieve a 3-D collage affect by mixing your favorite art and trinkets with photos for décor that will never become boring.

Don’t have an extra room to turn into an office? Put your desk up against an extra strip of wall and go vertical! Fill the shelves with reference books, file boxes or baskets of office supplies, and you’ll have all the designated workspace you need.

Love the shelf-office idea but wondering about where to file papers or wanting some drawers? Just hide some drawers INSIDE THE SHELVES with this clever tutorial. It also works anywhere else your home where you could use extra hidden storage.

No matter how small or tucked-away your kitchen is, you can give it an open feel and have everything you need within easy reach by using open shelves instead of – or in addition to – closed cabinets. Plus, it lets you display your favorite, beautiful dishes!

Your guests will LOVE this idea, and you’ll love how it clears ups space in your dining area that would otherwise be used by a bulky sideboard or extra table. Consider extending your countertop beneath it for flow between the rooms, or set the shelves up above your kitchen table in a small apartment! The possibilities are endless.

Love the look of back-lit kitchen shelves? Get it the natural way by placing shelves in front of your kitchen window! It extends the look of the cabinets and gives the most popular room in the house an extra bit of special.

Even a spice rack can be stylish when it’s made of floating shelves. Paint the shelving the same color as your walls for a chic hidden effect.

Fill in under the stairs.

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Do you have some awkward space beneath your stairs? Out of ideas for what to do with the triangle-shaped bit of wall? Fill it in with shelving displaying your favorite family knick-knacks, or turn it into a central hub for mail, keys, and messages.

Display your footwear.

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Don’t have a convenient place to store your shoes? Grab some floating shelves and display them! After all, they’re basically works of art, so admire them even when they’re not on your feet.

Is it magic? Is it art? An optical illusion? Keep your guests guessing! The way you display your literature will be as much a topic of conversation as the contents of the books themselves when you use this magical floating shelf.

This fun take on the floating bookshelf is perfect for a nursery or older child’s bedroom! What kid wouldn’t grow up to be a reader when her books are displayed this invitingly? You’ll be looking forward to story-time as much as she is!

Even extra toilet paper looks better when organized on a nice floating shelf. Give yourself some additional storage space while decorating at the same time with simple shelving.

How awesome are these ideas?! I love the book tree idea, and I’m definitely going to try it in the nursery! What did you think of them? Which idea is your favorite? Check out Decoholic for even more ideas, then tell us about the ways you use floating shelves in your home to solve problems and make things beautiful.